Soil Health

Soil health has been broken down into measurable parts to help farmers optimise crop and grassland productivity. As part of the Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership, a project in the AHDB & BBRO GREAT Soils programme, guidance and protocols have been issued to help practitioners benchmark their soils

Today’s farmers keenly understand their roles as custodians of our farmed environment. Agriculture is a vital industry in East Anglia, but in the driest region in the UK water supplies are precious and needs safeguarding.  Anglian Water is working closely with farmers to ensure that we maintain healthy water quality as well as healthy crops and a healthy rural economy.

Helping you protect your soil and improve its productivity.  AHDB's GREATSoils inititiative brings together practical information on soil management as well as links to soils research and knowledge exchange. Whether you need an introduction to soil biology or a detailed guide to improving field drainage, AHDB has information and guidance to support you. 

In 2021 Defra commissioned an ADAS led consortium to look at the environmental and productivity benefits of mob grazing systems in the UK. 

Project objectives To quantify the impact of contrasting cover crop mixes and destruction techniques on over winter nitrate leaching, soil nitrogen supply (and hence crop nitrogen fertiliser requirements) and performance of the following cash crop. In particular to determine the: effect of cover crop species mix on the quantity and timing of nitrogen returned to the soil effect of cover crop destruction method e.g. glyphosate & min till/direct drill vs mechanical destruction & min till/direct drill To determine the timing of nitrogen release from cover crops and potential legacy (year 2) effects on nitrate leaching and crop performance

Harnessing our collective strengths to bring about a step change in more sustainable soil health practices over the next decade

Our new book on Understanding and fostering soil carbon sequestration edited by Cornelia Rumpel, Director of Research in the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the French National Research Center, provides an authoritative review of all the latest research in this important area.

Soilmentor helps you learn what healthy soils and flourishing biodiversity look like on your farm. Understand changes on your land above & below ground, make informed decisions and keep everyone in the loop.

Guidance from AHDB GREATSoils giving four easy-to-follow steps for assessing soil structure. 

Guide explaining what Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) can do for your business. Catchment Sensitive Farming Advisers work with farmers to produce food in a way that protects water, air and soil; minimising losses and maximising efficiencies. Your CSF Adviser is locally based with an understanding of the challenges farmers face. They will work alongside you to take the latest advice and tailor it to best benefit your business.

GrassCheckGB is a grass monitoring project involving 50 dairy, beef and sheep farms.   Growth and quality data is published weekly throughout the growing season

‘Healthy soil, Healthy food and Healthy people’

ipaast-czo: Interoperable Precision Agricultural and Archaeological Sensing Technologies Remote and near-surface sensing technologies such as satellite imaging, UAV imaging, and geophysical survey are used in the practice of precision agriculture to support farmers and land managers to make data-driven management decisions. Archaeologists use many of these same sensing technologies to investigate the buried evidence for past human activities and make this evidence for the heritage of agricultural landscapes visible. Fundamentally, practitioners and researchers in both precision agriculture and archaeology are invested in developing a better understanding of soil conditions and their impacts on plant development by using advanced sensing technologies and related analytical methods. Consequently, there is a vast, untapped potential for sharing data and analytical approaches, enabling new research in both domains at an unprecedented scale and level of detail, leading to enhanced interpretations of the character of the agricultural landscape.    

Physical and online conference at Harper Adams Soil & Water Management Centre on 7th December.

Results from an Innovative Farmers Field Lab with University of Lincoln and Anglian Water showed benefits from drilling rather than broadcasting to establish a catch crop.   

Guidance from AHDB to help adapt arable cultivations on a rotational basis Download the Guide, watch videos and use the tools.

Anglian Water were involved with UK agricultural colleges, CSF, EA and Natural England to run the Great Farm Challenge. This involved interactive workshops and a farm visit with each college. Each college then wrote up a report about their learnings and the students who performed the best were invited to a GFC Final Day to present thier findings. Winners recieved vouchers and a farming press subcription. GFC hasnt run for the last year- is this something the industry would like to bring back?

Calling all agronomists! Sign up for the last few places at Soil Benchmark's event at NIAB on 7th December - hear from Dr Elizabeth Stockdale and join some of the UK's leading agronomists in the discussion on Farm Data and the Future of Agronomy

Report from European Environment Agency giving over of the metrics, challenges and plans for measuring soil health across Europe.  

In February 2018, ADAS, AHDB and Defra launched the Grass and herbal leys farm network. The network is a partnership between farmers, researchers and industry and provides a platform to investigate the long term impacts of leys in rotations, such as: Quantifying changes in soil organic matter and soil health from introducing temporary grass/herbal leys across a range of soil types and rainfall areas. Quantifying subsequent changes to soil organic matter and soil health following the destruction of the temporary grass/herbal leys and return to arable production. Investigating the effectiveness of grass/herbal leys in controlling blackgrass in ‘problem’ fields.

Funded by AHDB and BBRO, this five-year Soil Biology and Soil Health Partnership is a cross-sector programme of research and knowledge exchange. The programme is designed to help farmers and growers maintain and improve the productivity of UK agricultural and horticultural systems, through better understanding of soil biology and soil health. See https://ahdb.org.uk/soil-biology-and-soil-health-partnership

International Remote Conference. 9-10 February 2022, 10:00 (EET)

Healthy, well-managed soils are the foundation for productive farming systems. Taking steps to improve soil health is a vital part of future-proofing all farms against the challenges of climate change and changing government support, by supporting good yields and reducing environmental impacts.   Every farm and field is different and there is no single approach for creating healthy soils. These printable guides give targeted guidance for a range of farming systems. They have been developed by a wide-ranging partnership across the farming industry brought together by the UK Soil Health Initiative, the WWF-Tesco Partnership and CFE to help you to identify the actions you can take to better manage soils for a sustainable future. https://www.cfeonline.org.uk/environmental-management/soils/uk-soil-health-initiative-guides/

Series of 20 videos from USA exploring Regenerative Agriculture and the "Future of Agriculture for Ecosystems and Human Health"

A joint AFCP and NIAB event exploring what research is needed by farmers and stakeholders.  Hear from researchers looking at cover crops for soil structure and health; fungus and plant nutrient exchange; alleviating subsoil compaction; and more.

We are pleased to announce that the next British Society of Soil Science Annual Conference will be a joint event with the Soil Science Society of Ireland and take place in Belfast on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 December 2023.

6 October 2023: AFBI Soils Conference - La Mon Hotel and Country Club, Belfast

Cover crop establishment is affected by several factors, including species, soil type, weather and the rotation. Time of sowing, seed rates and establishment methods all need to be considered.

Would you like to learn how to create healthy soils and resilient fields while reducing reliance on inputs, even during droughts?

Certain crops (potatoes, sugar beet, maize, field vegetables) within a wider arable rotation pose increased risk of soil loss or degradation. Often described as ‘risky’ these crops may require additional management to ensure that field conditions are favourable and that there is no long-term disruption to soil functionality or structure.

Counting earthworms is a simple method for assessing soil biological health

Soil is the basis of every grassland system and aiming to constantly improve soil health will pay dividends in grassland productivity.

Executive summary for policymakers and researchers

Learn about the benefits of livestock in the arable rotation. See our information on forage crops, cover crops, outdoor pigs, farmyard manure and more.

Improving soils by building soil organic matter is a win, win situation for everyone.

Cover crops are usually planted within arable rotations between cash crops. They provide a multitude of benefits including building soil fertility, improving soil health and enhancing above and below ground biodiversity.  They provide a multitude of benefits including building soil fertility, improving soil health and enhancing above and below ground biodiversity.  

Understanding the factors that impact nutrient use efficiency (NUE) is key to improving nutrient management planning.

Join this online broadcast with Sean Cameron to learn about soil preservation techniques, carbon capture in agriculture, leadership and more.

This guide intends to highlight to farmers and crofters who are considering sowing a grassland herbal lay what species to consider.

This report reviews the economic benefits that can be achieved from reduced tillage.

SCI invites you to join leading experts and change-makers to explore the potential of regenerative agriculture, a revolutionary approach to farming that goes beyond sustainability.

Applying soil health principles at scale is a challenge, with many farmers looking to stop ploughing but still relying on chemical weed killers and those unwilling to use chemical weed killers still relying on ploughing.

Every farm and field is different, with a wide interplay of different factors impacting on optimum soil management between them.

Shaping our relationship to the soil.

Soil organic matter (SOM) serves as an important indicator of soil health.

Adding organic materials can potentially lead to better drainage, more resilient soil, more efficient irrigation, higher crop yields and better crop quality.

Six Simple Steps for your soil to help improve the performance, health and long-term sustainability of your land

Earthworms are an excellent indicator of soil health given their many crucial roles and sensitivity to issues such as low pH, compaction, water logging and intensive cultivations.

Healthy soils are important for the future of crop production in Europe and healthy crop rotations are a pre-requisite to maintain, improve or restore soil health. Nematodes and soil-borne pathogens are causing a threat to soil health. The decision support tools developed by the EU thematic network Best4Soil help the sustainable control of these threats.

This recording from the Oxford Real Farming Conference is of a discussion between farmers involved in the Innovative Farmers Bale grazing project.

This OGA webinar will give an overview of mechanised tillage, from bed preparation to weed control, looking at cultivation tools and their use in various contexts.

Infiltration is the process of water entry to the soil.

This Best4Soil video provides an introduction to the topic of soil organic matter, benefits and how to protect and increase soil organic matter on your field. At the end of the video, you will find additional information on these topics.

Cover crops and green manures have multiple positive effects on the soil health. But like all methods, this best practice has also some disadvantages.

The objective of this farmer-led research trial was to investigate a new approach to winter feed provision for livestock that considers the overall health of the farm system, including soil health, biodiversity, animal welfare, farmer welfare and economic sustainability.